wiring power questions (semi noobish)

**tdevil** · 01-26-2005, 12:44 AM

when people say they are powering something other than the mobo off the opus what do they mean by that?

I will have a USB hub and a CD/DVD slim driver away from the case which leaves me to the question of how to power those two? my battery is in the back of the car, i believe i have some terminals up in the engine bay.

do i just get two wires, one to pos one to neg from the battery terminals to the USB HUB? the usb hub is a typical one that needs to be plugged in(guessing this wont work as the battery is DC not AC) so are there little mini DC->AC adapters?

also how do i power the CD/DVD......

any help appreciated.

**Bugbyte** · 01-26-2005, 01:05 AM

Opus has outputs that can also run accessories in addition to powering the mobo.

Careful about running power right into your hub! Many USB hubs run on 5 volts. If you run 12volts from the car battery into them, you'll find out what the term "overvoltage" means.

You can buy 5volt regulators at Radio Shack for about $3.00 in the electronics part drawers. You run 12volts in and 5 volts comes out. Should be plenty beefy to handle a USB hub.

For the CD drive it's a little trickier, you need to check the voltages and amperages for the drive to be sure you've got the right stuff.

**R32 JUhl** · 01-27-2005, 11:52 AM

Bugbyte provided some good information!

Originally Posted by tdevil

when people say they are powering something other than the mobo off the opus what do they mean by that?.

We're powering our computer accessories (hubs, DVD, screens) right off the PSU using the molex connectors and extra wiring.

Originally Posted by tdevil

I will have a USB hub and a CD/DVD slim driver away from the case which leaves me to the question of how to power those two? .

Use the regulators like Bugbyte said. OR, if your PSU is powerful enough, you can use it to power them. I have a 150W Opus powering Lilliput 7", slotload DVD and 7 port USB hub in-dash.

Originally Posted by tdevil

do i just get two wires, one to pos one to neg from the battery terminals to the USB HUB? the usb hub is a typical one that needs to be plugged in(guessing this wont work as the battery is DC not AC) so are there little mini DC->AC adapters?.

Spend some time getting familiar with the components you're installing. Each of them came with an AC/DC adapter. That adapter has a label that explains what voltages and amperages it puts out. Those are maximums and your product should never draw more than that. But that will give you an indication of what you're drawing from your power supply or how much amperage you need from a regulator. The question you asked, IMO, was one of the hardest problems I had to deal with.

Originally Posted by tdevil

also how do i power the CD/DVD......

The only regulator I found had a max rating of 1 amp and my DVD power adapter was rated @ 12V, 2.2 amps. So I took power off my Opus for my DVD.

LOTS of people have dealt with this question and there are lots of different answers out there. I simply took the easy route, paid more money for a higher wattage PSU and powered my stuff with it, directly.